Central Park

I went to visit my friend Mary in hospital and passed through the northeast part of Central Park.  This is the part I am in the least.  What a beautiful day out and what a great feeling it was to be part of it. And the icing was seeing Mary recovering so nicely.  All is well today in my New York.

The Kids Are All Right

Went to a screening of "The Kids Are All Right" tonight.  Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and the director Lisa Cholodenko were there for a Q &A afterwards.  I cannot remember a film I liked so much in recent history.  It was really well done and did not go to the eye-rolling areas it could have.  It was so good in fact that it made me miss Los Angeles!  That is really saying something.

Mental Health Walk - Washington Square Park

Gay Pride - NYC

A new form of advertising. Someone seems to like it.

Tammy Grimes

Ellie, my connection to all things celebrity in New York, took me as her guest to see two-time Tony Award-winning Broadway legend and first wife to Captain Von Trapp/Leo Tolstoy and mother of madwoman from "Pulp Fiction" Amanda Plummer, at the Metropolitan Room in Chelsea.

Ellie and Tammy have been friends for years and we had amazing front and center seats to see her show.  In the category of "New York keeps getting smaller for me" we sat right next to legendary Glasgow-born photographer, Harry Benson.  I had met him at his show and reception in SOHO during Scotland Week.  It was great to see him again and meet his charming wife Gigi.  She is Texan and really wonderful.  Anyway, this was supposed to be about Tammy, but click on Harry Benson and you will be amazed at the photos that you know that he shot. What a life!

Tammy Grimes has that distinctive voice. It was no wonder she was asked to replace Glynnis Johns in "A Little Night Music" She has a much better voice, but they both went to the warbly school of eccentric voices and it is an alluring one to hear.

I felt for her as she forgot lots of lyrics, but she was still in good voice at 76 and looks wonderful. It was a pleasure.

Dating

I will be cryptic here.  Intentionally.  I always think cryptic is intentional, but often it is unintentional and sometime pathological.

No earth shattering news here:

I went out on a date.  We played tennis and went to dinner.  Normal.  Fun even!

It was a fourth date if anyone is counting.  I like dating.

That was not cryptic, that was lying.   I hate dating.

Well, not dating so much. I hate the not being able to see the bubble over the other person's head and I spend so much time looking for it that I can miss the moment. And my own feelings on the matter.

I wrote on my Facebook status once what was in my head and I thought was a funny joke: "I'll like you if you like me!"  Sadly, this is only half a joke. 

Dating is about discovery.  But I seem to think it is about destiny. It is not.  It is about getting to know the other person and seeing if it is a match. Sadly I seem to need to be hit over the head.  Nothing less than skywriting and a singing telegram (lyrics that you composed yourself) will prove to me that you are into this. Sigh.

But there is no bubble and there is no skywriting. I am flying solo on this thing and must learn that if it is working it is working. 

But what does "working" mean exactly?

Ann Craven

Ann Craven for you losers who are not hip and do not know is a really hot artist who had a show recently at Macarone in the West Village in New York.  The New Yorker wrote up a really glowing piece about her and this show, but I cannot find it on line to link it for you. Who is the loser now?

I only say losers to elevate myself. I didn't know who she was until I was introduced to her by my friend Ellie. We had lunch with her and her artist partner, Peter Halley.   What a great afternoon that was. 

We went to see her show today and it was wonderful. Wonderful!

She painted a series of roses in a vase.  These large scale, almost monochrome, paintings were hung in one room and in an adjacent gallery hung their mirror images that the artist did from memory.  The whole effect was quite striking.  I am sad for some reason that this whole rose family cannot stay together and pieces from the show are sold individually.